Eastern is a fully accredited, Christian university with 35 majors and about 1,500 undergraduate students on its beautiful campus in suburban Philadelphia.

The proposed Institute would offer a minor for Orthodox students and serve as a hub for their spiritual, academic, and professional development.

“Orthodox Christian students will flourish at Eastern University, especially were we to launch this Institute,” Dr. Jenkins said. “The minor in Orthodox thought and culture, along with a vibrant Orthodox community of learners, joined with the liberal arts education of an established Christian university, will provide students with the habits and virtues of mind and heart needed for leadership in whatever vocation they choose.”

By nesting within an established university, the Institute can focus exclusively on providing a robust and holistic Orthodox formation for its students, even as the students avail themselves of the full resources of the larger university and complete their degrees in a wide variety of fields.

Relationship to the Church

Although it would be a program of Eastern University, a private school with an interdenominational Christian student body, the Institute is in the process of forming a Pan-Orthodox advisory board, including hierarchs, clergy, and laity.

Initial responses from within the Orthodox Church have been very positive.

“St. Basil the Great had a vision of a community that has at its center the Eucharist. The community included Christian schools, Christian hospitals, all of which got their strength and power from the Eucharist,” Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomas (Joseph), Ed.D., of the Antiochian Archdiocese said. “It is with this in mind that I strongly suggest that you take a serious look at the Institute for Orthodox Thought and Culture at Eastern University. This project has my support and my prayers.”

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